Xander's Secret
by zillagirl84
Summary: Xander is keeping a secret from his Slayer, the Watchers, and his friends. But what?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the characters from _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _or _Angel_.

**Summary:**

Xander is keeping something from his friends, his Slayer, and the Council. But what?

**Author's Note:**

This story idea came to me shortly after watching _Underworld_ and _Underworld 2: Evolution_ back-to-back. Any complaints can be forwarded to Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, Kate Beckinsale, and Scott Speedman.

**Chapter One**

The London HQ for the Watchers

"Xander?" He looked up at Vi. His very own Slayer. But a bit needy. She certainly wasn't as confident as Buffy. But he figured that only took time.

"Yes, Vi? I thought we were done here." So he hoped. He needed to get away. He wasn't like Giles. He didn't eat, drink, and sleep vampires, demons, and apocalypse. He liked to do his own thing. He liked to get away from all that stuff.

The young slayer bit her lower lip and peered at him. "Just wondering where you're off to. You know, because you disappear everyday."

"I don't disappear. I go away and be a regular mortal. I got out and have fun and try not to think about vampires, demons, or beheadings for a full eight hours each day. You should try it. Go out for a movie. Watch the soaps. Read the gossip about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and that child with a name like a Chinese dinner special."

"I think it sounds more Japanese." She interjected. "Really, though, Xander, I'm just curious. Why can't you tell me where you go? Are you ashamed or guilty or what? It's not --" She gasped at a sudden thought. "It's not illegal, is it?"

Xander groaned and rolled his eyes. What is it with this girl? He had a lot of things he had to do before he got to where he was going, and he did not have time for this. "No, Vi, it is not. It's private, okay? I don't think I need to tell you every-- Okay, okay, I'll tell you truth! I go out to the local video store, I rent a couple of horror movies, take them over to this lady vampire I know, and I eat popcorn and she eats raw spleen and I criticize the victims and she criticizes the baddies! Okay? No, can I go?"

He let out his breath as he heard Vi snort with laughter. The girl really had an annoying laugh. But she was good at staking – nobody was perfect. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Xander, now, you could've just told me to mind my own business – no need to make up such a cock-and-bull story. I'll go. Have fun!" She turned off and headed down the hall, laughing some more. He thought he heard her say she had to tell Faith that story. He shook his head and headed out the door into London's busy streets.

The Watchers' Council HQ, Sussex, England

"Hey, B!" Buffy turned around in time to see her fellow Slayer, Faith, wander into the training room. She put down the axe she had been twirling and smiled.

"Hey, Faith. What's up?"

"Wait 'till you hear this! Just got a call from Vi, she'd been trying to get Xander to tell her where he goes everyday after debriefing."

Buffy snorted. "Probably goes to nearest nudie picture show. You know Xan, still a 17 year old teenaged boy at heart!"

"Yeah, that's what I told her. But today he kinda blew up at her and said that he rented horror movies and took them to a female vampire's house while he ate popcorn and she ate raw spleen. Even said that he criticized the victims' action while she criticized the perps'!"

Buffy laughed out loud. That really was a good one. She paused and looked up at Faith. A horrible thought came into her head. Both Spike and Angel had told her that Dru loved raw spleen. Adored it, even. Could he really be that dumb? I mean, Dru might be living in England. Spike had said she loved movies. Even vampire ones. She shook her head violently. "Naaah!"

Faith's eyes got wide. Then she snorted and laughed. "Hell, B, you didn't take it seriously didja?"

Buffy had the grace to blush. "No, it's just a little spooky. Spike and Angel both told me that Dru liked raw spleen. But I'd think I'd know if she was in the same country I was, right?"

"Yeah, if she's a crazy as you guys said, I'da thought that she couldn't keep a really low profile."

Buffy nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're probably right. Hey, you want to go a few rounds? I need to get the disturbing picture of Xan and Dru out of my head."

Faith smiled an evil smile. "That's my B! Just don't put me in a coma this time, 'kay?"

"Hey!" Buffy responded in mock outrage. "You don't poison my boyfriend and I won't put you in a coma."

"What boyfriend would that be?"

"Oooh! I am SO going to kick your ass!"

Dru's Flat, the East End, London, England

Dru could keep a low profile if she needed to. It had never been a problem for her. It had always been Spike that didn't understand about discretion. Dru had always been very quiet. She had very simple needs – that was something her Daddy and Spike had known. But a Slayer probably would never be able to wrap their mind around something like that.

What she really wanted was friendship and companionship. After Spike and her had broken up, she hadn't had that for a long time. Until now. Now, she had friendship. She smiled with a far-off look in her eyes. And, if she played her cards right, she could have companionship.

She shook her head and concentrated on the task at hand. She put strawberries, clotted cream, and some shortcake on a tray and carried it out to the sitting room. The curtains were all closed, but it really wasn't a bad view at the evening. You could see over the Thames and even see that dreadful Wheel in the distance. She really thought it needed to be torn down. It was a definite eyesore.

She went back into the kitchen to make the tea. She took out her best service and looked into her tea cupboard. She wanted to have a nice blend for Sandy. She giggled. She loved it when he came over. They had such fun. She didn't think it would be very hard at all to fall in love with him. Even if he was a mortal. She frowned and made a pouting face. It's just too bad he wants to stay that way. They could have even more fun killing things, she was sure! Looking over her scores and scores of blends, she finally decided on a peppermint blend. She scooped out the tea and dropped into the pot. The water finally boiled and, just as she was pouring it into the pot, the doorbell rang. She practically danced into the sitting room carrying the tea service.

Setting everything down, she danced to the door, cursing once again her lack of a reflection. A girl would like to know how she looked when a young man came to call. She shook her head again at Sandy's manners. She'd given him a key to her flat, but he never used it. She would need to work on that. She thrust open the door and screamed in delight.

"Sandy!"

Xander chuckled and shook his head. He couldn't believe he let her call him that. She was sure beautiful. He understood more and more why Angelus had become obsessed with her. He wondered not for the first time what she looked like with a little color in her cheeks. "Druse! Sorry I'm late, but I had trouble finding both films."

She laughed, a curious tinkling almost musical laugh that had Xander's stomach doing that funny thing it did sometimes. "Ooooh! I smell bear's spleen! Yummy!"

Chuckling, he handed the package to her. He then spied all the goodies on the table and his stomach started doing calisthenics. That's what he liked about Dru, she sure knew how to treat a guy's appetite! He grimaced. He was going to have to stop seeing her. He really was. This could only lead to something bad. After all, it wasn't like she had been cursed by gypsies and had a soul. Sooner or later, she'd ...

"Sandy? What's wrong? I made tea." He looked into her big violet eyes and promptly forgot what he had been thinking about.

"Looks great, Druse. Wait 'till you see the movies I got for us. You'll love 'em!"

She nodded happily and took his outstretched arm. "Of course, I will, Sandy. You have such good taste."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**

I do not own any of the characters from _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ or _Angel. _The movie _Underworld _was written by Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, and Danny McBride.

**Summary**

Xander and Drusilla enjoy their cream tea. Will Drusilla get her wish for more than friendship? Or will Xander's fears come true?

**Chapter Two**

"Sit! Sit! I made a very special tea. I have strawberries, and clotted cream, and shortcake!" Xander smiled as he sat down next to Drusilla. He set the two DVDs down and watched her purple painted fingers put together a plate for him.

"Druse, no offense, but I don't think I'd like having rotten cream. Okay? How 'bout just plain old whipp--" Xander stopped and spun in horror at the soft snarl he heard emanating from Drusilla.

"I do NOT make rotten food!" She spat at him angrily. How dare he say such a thing to her? And she had thought they were friends. Ohhhhh! Things like that made her so angry.

Xander looked on in shock, his horror subsiding somewhat, as her face shifted back and forth from human to demon and back again. He came to realize, somewhat slowly, that she wasn't going all evil and homicidal on him. She was angry... angry and hurt. He felt a slow burn of shame wash all over him. He'd hurt her feelings. Ever since he knew her, he was always amazed at how sensitive she was. How easily she was hurt. So much more sensitive than any female he had ever known. Not Cordy or Willow or Buffy, or even Dawnie or Anya. No. They all had skins as thick as steel compared to Druse.

He reached over and grabbed her hands and gently and firmly brought them to his lips. He kissed them gently. He reached one hand up to caress her cool face. "I'm sorry, Drusie, I really am. I'm sure clotted cream is really good. Maybe it's because I'm American... You know, our cream is usually whipped. I hear clotted cream... I think cottage cheese."

He held her eyes, willing her to feel just how sorry he was. How could a vampire, a soulless creature, a murderess and a lunatic... how could she make him feel this bad without even touching him? He didn't understand. Looking into her eyes, he saw the moment she began to smile that innocent, joyous smile of hers. "Oh, Sandy! You are so silly! If all you've had is that horrid American whipped cream... Well, you are in for a treat. I normally serve it with scones... but I thought you'd like shortcake as a treat. It's quite rich. Here let me make you one and if you don't like it, tell me."

He watched as she took a piece of shortcake and spread the clotted cream on top. It had the consistency of butter, but looked quite different. She then put some strawberries on top. He reached out his hand for the delicate china plate, but she shook her head, smiling a quite wicked smile. But he wasn't scared. He knew she wouldn't hurt him – unless he hurt her first. She lifted the shortcake up to his lips as he opened his mouth for a bite, closing his eyes in anticipation. The shortcake he tasted first. It was made from scratch – of course - he didn't think Drusilla trusted others to bake for her. It was firm and tasted as golden as it looked. Then, he tasted the strawberries and the cream mixed together. He nearly groaned with pleasure. He didn't know if you could get an orgasm from just eating strawberries and cream. He opened his eyes and met Drusilla's smug look. She giggled that marvelous sound only she could make. "So, would you like the rest?"

"Oh, Druse..." He sighed and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, taking the small plate from her. All of sudden, she got all embarassed and, if he didn't know any better, he thought he saw her blush. No, that certainly couldn't have happened. Can vampires blush? He stared at her lips, wondering just what it would feel like to kiss her – No! He shook his head to clear himself of the impulse. "I just can't believe I never heard of this stuff before. Did Giles know about this clotted cream stuff?"

She smiled and raised her head to look at him as he relaxed back into the cushions of the sofa. He was so handsome – she was so sure that he had been thinking about kissing her. She was so sad when he hadn't. But she could be patient. She had always been patient. She was 150 years old, after all. It would be no problem. "Of course, he knew. He is English after all. Maybe he's not from Devon or Cornwall, but I'm sure he's had it several times."

"Oh! I am SO going to yell about him about not telling me. I'll bet the girls don't know anything about it either."

"Sandy! How long have you been in England? It's sold everywhere. I don't see how you could've missed it."

"Well, sure, I've seen it. But no one told me it was this good!" He finished his shortcake in two more bites and reached for another. Then he thought of something. "Druse, can I make one for you? A special one?"

He smiled as she nodded a little shyly. He reached for a shortcake slathering it with the cream. He looked at her as he reached, not for the strawberries, but for the spleen he'd picked up earlier. He eyes got wide as saucers. Ah, she seems to like this idea. The only reason he'd done it is because he wanted to do something to please her. He held this piece of shortcake to her mouth. She opened her mouth and took a delicate bite. He watched as her eyes closed and she made a wonderful purring noise. She opened her eyes and reached for the teapot.

He chuckled. "Well, I guess you do like it like that. I'm so glad." He reached forward to wipe some crumbs from her cheek. He loved the time he spent with her. There was no obligation on either side. It was just the two of them.. and the movies, of course. It was like the whole outside world didn't exist. He didn't talk about his Slayer or the Council or any of it. She didn't talk about what she did in the evenings. They knew, of course. He took a sip of the minty tea she'd made. It was like candy canes. He laughed.

She looked up from her tea at the sound of his laugh. She arched in eyebrow in an unspoken question. She never pried, but she did wonder what he thought was funny this time.

"Oh, I was just thinking about Giles. If he only knew how much I looked forward to afternoon tea, he'd probably faint!" He started laughing again, warming to the sound of her tinkling giggles joining his.

Later, after the tea things had been cleared, Xander found the two movies he'd brought over. Druse was really going to love these movies! He couldn't wait until the third movie was out. Hmmm... Wonder if he could get away with taking Druse out to see it when it comes out? Was something to think over. He had a while to mull that over though... the movie wasn't due out until '08.

"Sandy!" He grinned as he heard the impatience, the near whining in Druse's voice. He had always heard Angel and Spike say how much they had hated Drusilla's whining, but he... well, he found he liked it! It was so funny! He hated it when he heard some of the Slayers' whining or Anya... Anya could be **really** annoying. But, Druse... she was different. "Hey, Druse, I know, I know. I'm getting it set up. I was just thinking about how much you're going to like this."

Nodding happily, she waited and watched as he put the small saucer in the movie box. It still amazed her a small little thing like that held the magic pictures. She loved them, though. Even more, she loved to watch them with someone. Spike had hated the pictures she liked. Sandy, though, he liked to watch all the same pictures she did. It was just so perfect. So, she knew that if he said that, that this picture was going to be good. She looked up as she saw the picture start. She fidgeted nervously on the sofa as she watched Sandy run back to her and settle down. He laid down, back to the back of the sofa and lifted his arms. She happily settled into position, her head resting in the crook of his elbow, her stockinged feet laying between his.

Xander smiled placing his left hand on Drusilla's hip. He focused on Drusilla's drool-worthy 62" HDTV home theater screen. The first time he'd seen Druse's home theater set up, he'd nearly wet himself. It was a guy's wet dream. She had everything – and he did mean everything! TiVo, DVD player with a 5-disc changer, a 62" plasma HDTV screen, surround sound, satellite dish... if there was something she didn't have, he didn't know what it was! She even game him a key so he could sneak over during the NFL playoffs and watch while she slept.

The movie began with Selene's narration. _The war had all but ground to a halt in the blink of an eye. Lucian, the most feared and ruthless leader ever to rule the Lycan clan, had finally been killed. The Lycan horde scattered to the wind in a single evening of flame and retribution. Victory, it seemed, was in our grasp, the very birthright of the vampires. Nearly six centuries had passed since that night, yet the ancient feud proved unwilling to follow Lucian to the grave. Though Lycans were fewer in number, the war itself had become more perilous, for the moon no longer held her sway. Older, more powerful Lycans, were now able to change at will. The weapons had evolved, but our orders remained the same: Hunt them down and kill them off, one by one. A most successful campaign. Perhaps too successful. For those like me, a Death Dealer, this signaled the end of an era. Like the weapons of the previous century, we, too, would become obsolete. Pity, because I lived for it. _

He felt Druse shudder in his arms, the words enchanting her. He smiled. He knew she would like it. The home theater seemed to him to be some sort of transportation device. She just fell into that other world. It had been a revelation to him. He'd always loved movies, but movies with Druse... That was completely different. Wonderful. He smiled and leaned back to enjoy the movie.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**

I do not own any of the characters of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _or _Angel._

**Summary**

Xander reminisces on his relationship with Drusilla.

**Chapter Three**

Xander walked happily away from Drusilla's flat as he made his way back to the Watchers' London HQ. He needed to make it back soon. He had some administrative work to do before he and Vi went patrolling tonight. Not the least of which was prioritizing just what needed to be done tonight. There were at least three or four problem areas, as well as a vampire brothel that needed to be shut down. (The brothel, itself, was going to be a big problem. Twice, Vi said that she had seen people from the government going in there while she was staking it out. No pun intended.)

He loved the time he spent with Druse. It made him realize just how much he needed this non-Watcher time. With her, he didn't have to be anyone but that dumb, silly kid from Sunnydale. He didn't have to be responsible. If anyone had told him six months (or six years) ago, that he would look forward to spending time with Drusilla, he would've told them that they were crazy! He thought back to that day when he had discovered that Dru was living (or un-living) in London, not less than two miles from the Watchers' London HQ.

_Six months earlier..._

He'd escaped, he congratulated himself for the umpteenth time since he left the London HQ building. He'd been going crazy. Giles had required him to go through an inhuman (nearly demonic) amount of administrative paperwork before he took Vi out patrolling. He'd never realized just how much bureaucracy there'd been in being a Watcher. Especially not how enamored Giles had been of it. He'd realized the old Humpty Dumpty Council were waist deep in the crap, but he'd thought Giles wouldn't have been, considering how he felt about things.

So, he'd run out. He just couldn't be a responsible Watcher a minute longer. He needed to be that stupid kid that squeaked out of Sunnydale High School with a D+ average. The one who never thought about anything but naked girls. He sighed. He looked around. He was on a typical London street with typical London shops and he was a typical American boy. Yeah, right. His eyes were attracted by a shopfront. Looking through the window, he discovered it was a video store – and a strange one at that. Looking up, he nearly fell down at the name of the shop. _**Hellmouth Video.**_ He shook his head in disbelief and reached for the door. It was locked. He frowned, it was only 5:30 and the video store was closed? What kind of video store closes this early?

He backed up to look at the whole shopfront. _**Biggest horror selection in Europe.** _And just how do you figure that? Then, in large red painted letters in the right front corner: **_Open everyday from dusk until dawn. Closed Halloween. _**The more he looked at the storefront, the more he wondered if he and Vi should check this place out on patrol. He looked to the west. Hmmm... Dusk shouldn't be too much longer. Maybe he should just wander around and check this place out on the return trip. He looked up the street. There seemed to be plenty of shops. What was odd was how many of them didn't seem to open until dusk. It was really making him nervous. He passed a restaurant – a steakhouse; stopping to look at the menu, his eyes drifted to a sign on the door. **_Closed due to the full moon. _**Yes, he was getting very nervous. He was beginning to think this area serviced a very, very specific clientèle. Very Specific.

You know, if this was a movie, he'd have had the whole audience telling him to get out of there. _Don't go in there! _He chuckled as he looked to the west. He could barely see the sun peeking between the clouds as it set on the horizon. He really should just get a cab and go back to his and Vi's flat. She really needed more training. The more he dealt with these newbies, the more he wondered what Buffy had been like she'd first been called. The street was bathed in shadows by now. He looked around. How odd. He'd never seen sunset come on so fast. Not even in Sunnyhell. He looked back to the west. As he peered down the street, he realized that there was some sort of stonework interfering with the last few rays of sunlight. It blocked them so that just this area seemed to be bathed in shadows. Huh. Got to talk to Wills about this. It's just too weird. It was almost like he was in a shopping center designed exclusively for the undead.

Xander began to reach for his phone. Damn! Forgot it again. Looking back down the street, he noticed that stores were beginning to open. He peered down at where he thought that video store was. A young man (vampire?) was out in front of the shop. He was placing a display in front of the main window. He also seemed to looking at something. Xander shrugged his shoulders. For some reason, he believed that he was relatively safe. Someone would certainly have noticed if a bunch of bloodless bodies had shown up in a relatively small area. Vamps, although evil, are for the most part not stupid. So, he moved on, he was starting to realize why curiosity killed the cat.

As he approached the video store, he noticed that only about half the stores were actually open. The steakhouse had said something about the full moon. Maybe the closed ones were owned or operated by werewolves. Or, they catered to the full moon dependent crowd. It was just too much to think about. It was making his head hurt. If only Willow or Giles were here, they never got headaches thinking. His stomach grumbled, he looked around. Maybe he should find someplace to eat around here. He shuddered. That might not be to easy. Judging by the clientèle he might be more likely to find himself on the menu, rather than reading it. He frowned. No, he thought, I can probably wait.

At the door of the video store, he noticed that the display the man was setting up was a clearance rack. It was filled with all sorts of DVDs and video games. Hmmmm... Interesting selection. Several copies of _Van Helsing_ (quite possibly the worst vampire movie he'd ever seen), quite a few copies of _Interview with a Vampire _(all marked FREE), and quite a few foreign films. _Samson vs. the Vampire Women. _Hmmm. Wrestlers vs. vampire babes. Buffy would probably have looked good in tights and a silver mask, but she would probably have complained. Doubt that the mask is good for the hair. He chuckled. He had started thumbing through the video games when he heard a noise behind him.

"Ooooh! Miss Elizabeth, look who we've found!" He dropped the copy of an old _Vampires: the Masquerade _video game at the sound of a way too familiar voice. Way too familiar. This was the point (if this had been a movie) when someone in the audience said: _I told you not to go in there! _He turned carefully around, patting his back pocket for the reassuring feel of his stake. Though he didn't think he'd have enough time to use it. There she was. He gasped. She was way too close. He took a step back and realized that he was trapped between her and the window. He looked to his right and his left, to the ground (no help there!), and then up to the sky. The stars were just starting to twinkle. He thought the main one was Venus, but there was another star he wasn't sure about. "Do the stars sing to you, too?"

He looked back down at the nut job in front of him. She was standing there smiling happily at him. She looked surprisingly innocent. If he hadn't known just what she was capable of, he'd have believed it. She was wearing a dark purple dress made of some velvet type material with flowers all over it. She had a matching ribbon in her hair. He looked down in her arm where she was holding a doll. A new doll. A doll that was most certainly not Miss Edith. For one thing, it had both of its eyes. Maybe this doll didn't say bad things to her. He smiled at the doll and then tried to smile at Drusilla without looking too closely in her eyes. That was a bad thing. "What happened to Miss Edith, Drusilla? She leave you for another lunatic?"

He groaned inwardly. That was a seriously stupid thing to say to someone of Drusilla's mental state. She frowned at him, her lips curling as he heard her snarl. Well, at least, she hasn't gone all demon-y. Good sign? What was he thinking? The only good sign would be if Buffy dropped from the heavens to save poor stupid Xander. He kept his eyes on her, hoping... well, hell, just hoping. Then he saw her turn her attention to the doll. "What's that, Miss Elizabeth? It's Miss Edith's fault, he's being mean? Yes, yes, he never knew me without Miss Edith..." She trailed off, still staring at Miss Elizabeth. Xander was beginning to like Miss Elizabeth. She sounded a lot more reasonable... Damn! He was getting as crazy as... "What's that? He can help us with our magic picture room?" He jumped. Oh, no. Why did he come down here? "Is that right? Can you help me with my magic pictures?"

Xander swallowed heavily at the unanswered question. He barely resisted at all as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the video store. He was numb all over, but not numb enough to wonder just what the hell he'd gotten himself into.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**

I do not own any of the characters of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ or _Angel._

**Summary**

Andrew in London. He decides to stick his nose in Xander's business.

**Chapter Four**

Andrew really hated this. They were always treating him like a child. More than a child. They treated him like a child with some hideous, disfiguring disease. Instead of the experienced Watcher that he was. When you think about it, he actually had a lot more experience than the others. (Well, maybe not Giles.) Hadn't he played Dungeons & Dragons for years and years? He'd read all the literature – Lord of the Rings, The Sword of Shannara, the Pern series. He knew a lot more than most of them. Especially Xander. Xander was so inferior to him.

And now what was he doing? Reporting to Xander! Ugh! It was like having Superman report to Jimmy Olson. Batman reporting to Robin. Gandalf reporting to ... to ... a dwarf! It was just unseemly and inappropriate and ... just plain wrong!

And, why? All because of Her Majesty. He realized that Buffy had saved the world... quite a few times, actually. But, she did need to learn a sense of perspective. She was just a warrior. The Watchers were the ones who did the thinking. She needed to learn a little respect. Make that a lot of respect. He still couldn't believe the fuss she was making. She had thrown a real hissy fit. Well, a hissy fit on steroids. Why? Because of that creep.. that interloper... that... that... Lando Calrissian! He was only telling the truth.. he couldn't be trusted. He had turned to the Dark Side. She needed to just let go. Couldn't she tell she was hurting her true love?

He shuddered and kicked at some pigeons in his way. Pigeons were like flying rats in Andrew's opinion. He shook his head in disgust, muttering something under his breath, when he crashed right into two women. He looked up and told them to look where they were going. If they only knew who he was! They'd kneel and beg his pardon – instead they just they just yelled in outrage and spat at his feet. How dare they! If only he had his Slayer... He snarled angrily as he remembered how they had _decided_ to take him out of the field. They had said his abilities were best suited to analytical and advisory work. He snorted. They were just scared of him that was all.

He looked up and around. It shouldn't be too far to the London Headquarters now. As he looked up, he saw Xander leaving the building. He shook in aggravation. _How dare he leave! He knows I'm coming!_ As he watched Xander walk up the street, he decided he was going to see what was so important that he would blow off their meeting. Maybe... he thought, just maybe it'd be something juicy. Something Giles wouldn't approve of. Then he could restore his standing in the Council. Maybe he could have Xander's job. He smiled smugly and rubbed his hand together in anticipation.

Suddenly, he noticed Xander jumping onto a bus. He had to think fast. He couldn't hop on the bus, too. He would be too noticeable. He looked around frantically. Ah, yes! A cab! Perfect. He hailed a cab and jumped in the back. "Driver! Follow that bus!"

The driver looked into the backseat at his new fare. He rolled his eyes. Just what he needed. A 007 wanna-be. He shook his head. However, a fare was a fare, so he proceeded to follow the bus. It was the 205 to Whitechapel. Well, he knew that route pretty well. "No problem, sir. I know this route like the back of me hand."

"Good. Good. I'm trying to catch up to an associate of mine, a junior associate. He's around 6 feet tall, dark hair, slim. Kinda dorky looking."

_Pot calling the kettle black, if you ask me. _The cab driver thought to himself, snidely. This kid could be the standard for dork. _Remember, be nice to the fare._ Luckily, the kid was quiet as they followed the bus from Great Portland Street through Islington. Although quiet, the kid did seem to fidget quite a bit and seemed to be arguing under his breath about something. Many people got on and off the bus. None, however, matched the description of the "target".

They followed the bus all the way to Whitechapel Station where the kid nearly hit the roof when he spotted the "target". The driver shuddered, hoping the little brat didn't spring a leak in his back seat. He hated having to clean Yank piss out of his cab. Bloody Americans! The kid nearly sprang out of the cab, but... "Hold on there, boffin. Let's just see if this bloke takes a transfer." The driver nearly stunned himself by making the suggestion. However, let's just see how long we can milk this fare out.

They watched as the "target" did indeed transfer. Onto the D3 to Wapping and Limehouse Districts. _Blow me! The East End! This kid'll stand out like a sore thumb there! _So, the pursuit continued as the driver watched happily, the fare grew and grew. Finally, in the Butcher's Row area, the "target" finally got off. He started to walk off towards a rather odd market street. Most cabbies avoided it after dark, but it was still light, so it shouldn't be a problem. They had nicknamed the area Dracula's End.

"Well, boffin." Andrew perked up. _Boffin,_ he thought, _this driver must've taken a liking to me. _"We're here. There's your mate ahead going down Dracula's End."

Andrew gasped. "Dr-Dracula's End?" He spat out in a stutter. _Maybe Xander has a job. But where is Vi? A Watcher shouldn't handle things on his own. What is he thinking?_ He looked out the window and watched as Xander disappeared down the street. He had to make a decision. _Well! If Xander isn't afraid, neither am I! After all, I am his superior. _

He turned to the driver, handing him a few bills. The driver grimaced and snatched his billfold out of his grasp, extracting a lot more bills than he had planned. He thrust the billfold back at him and drove back into traffic. Not before he gave him a rather ominous piece of free advice: "Be out of that there street by sunset, me boffin. If you know what's good for you!"

Andrew snorted in disbelief. He was a Watcher, after all. He had nothing to fear. He had faced the First Evil with the Slayer after all. He could handle anything.

Xander had congratulated himself on the bus. He had gotten out of their Islington townhouse and onto a bus to the East End with the minimum of fuss from Vi. And, what was more important, before that idiot Andrew showed up. He couldn't believe he had to put up with advice from that fool. Why Giles couldn't send him somewhere else. Like to Angel! He'd been hoping after his previous visits to Angel and Spike, that eventually Angel would just go all "Angelus" on him and snap his neck. Could happen! Andrew was that annoying!

Or better yet, Buffy would find out he'd done something dreadful to her precious soulmate and kill him herself. The only consolation was that sooner or later, Andrew would piss the wrong person – or thing – off and they'd be free of him.

Still he was free of him at least until this evening. He had brought his pager. If it was really important, the Jedi Master of Dorkdom could page him. And probably would, he thought with a shudder. Still, he wanted to see what Dru thought of "Snakes on Planes". She might find it scary. Not because of the snakes. No, she found them sexy. Go figure. No, it was the planes. She was terrified of them.

Looking out the window, he watched as they got closer and closer to the river. He relaxed in the seat, watching the scenery go by. He really looked forward to this. He wasn't in love with Dru, and she wasn't in love with him. He wasn't even sure he was attracted to her. But, he did feel close to her. She could be a lot of fun when she wasn't all fangs and golden eyes and trying to kill you. It was hard to believe, but she was one of his closest friends now.

That made things hard. There were so many times he wanted to tell Will or Buffy about something Dru had said. However, he would have to tell them about Dru first. He wasn't even sure if they knew she was in the country. They probably did, though. Dru talked to Spike regularly. So, he knew she was here. Fortunately, he'd convinced Dru not to tell Spike about him. That would take the cake! He'd never live it down if Spike or Angel found out. He shuddered at the thought.

He was so caught up in his personal thoughts, he nearly missed his stop. He leapt off the bus, just as it was starting to pull back out. _That was close_, he thought. He looked behind him. He was getting to be paranoid, he guessed. But he was always afraid someone he knew would see him going into Dru's flat. There were people all around, but they all belonged here. There was one cab idling just behind where the bus had pulled over, but he dismissed it and trotted across the street and down into Dracula's End.

He passed a sweet shop and bought some chocolates for he and Dru to share. He looked up. Clouds were gathering. He pulled up the collar of his jacket, and prayed he got into Dru's before it rained. No such luck! The sky got positively black with clouds and let loose a cloudburst as he approached her doorstep. Her door opened and out she came. She bustled around him like a mother hen protecting her chicks. "More poor darling boy. Poor dear dear boy. Let Mummy dry you off. Come in before you catch your death of cold..."

He chuckled and happily let her hover over him. He never noticed the figure that had followed him. Andrew was gleefully taking pictures with his cell phone of Xander being brought into a woman's arms. He snapped picture after picture as he watched Xander being clucked over and kissed several times by someone he knew Giles would be interested in. Drusilla. Angel's psychotic offspring. _Oooh! This is going to be good. _He hurried back to catch a bus back to the HQ. He couldn't wait to e-mail these photos to Xander's buddies.

Andrew himself had been watched. He had gotten too close to the door and couldn't quite escape Drusilla's sharp senses. She had hustled Xander in front of the fire with some tea, and then turned back to the window. Her eyes narrowed and sparked with gold. She suppressed a snarl not wanting to alert poor, chilled Sandy. He really should have been wearing more appropriate clothing. However, he was from California, he wasn't really used to their fickle weather.

As she watched Andrew hustle back down towards Butcher's Row, she promised that she would take care of him. The little rat boy wanted to hurt her darling Sandy and she couldn't allow that. No, no. The little rat needed a little trap, that was all. She smiled and started to plan, but she returned to the sitting room at Sandy's call. _All in good time. That's what the Bible says_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**

I do not own any of the characters of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ or _Angel._

**Summary**

Drusilla puts her plan for Andrew into motion. Buffy is worried about Giles; Faith and Spike are worried about Angel.

**Chapter Five**

Drusilla

The sun had finally set. So, she was finally able to hunt. She nearly giggled in anticipation. She'd not really hunted lately. Sure, she went out to feed. But most humans were so oblivious to their surroundings. They were practically dead before they realized what was happening to them. It wasn't like the old days when people believed in things like her. In the creatures of the night. Now, all people seemed to believe in was money. Money and science. The twin gods of modern society.

Looking around, she realized the quickest way to her prey was going to be a cab. She frowned. She really didn't trust cabbies, and they always drove so fast. It was actually quite distressing. Plus, it was so hard to actually find a cab in her neighborhood after sunset. They were so cautious. Nobody wanted to risk it. People had a habit of disappearing in her little section of the East End.

She sighed and started walking up to Butcher's Row where she could catch a cabbie. She needed to get to Islington before her prey did anything. She didn't think he'd tell Xander or even Xander's Slayer about what he saw. No, she was pretty sure he was going to save that information for the True Slayer or the Witch or even the Head Watcher. Yes, as long as she got to him before he left London, it'd be in time. She wasn't going to have the little rat ruin her Sandy's life.

He was her friend. Her companion. He was the sun in her dark life. And she didn't want to give that up. So, the rat boy would just have to go. She smiled in expectation as she hailed a cab.

Buffy

She was upset. No, it was more than that. She was scared. She looked at Giles, her father, really, and shuddered. He was sick, very sick. It always bothered her to think of him as getting older, or even weaker. To her, he would always be the Giles who fought by her side. The man who could silence and stop her with just a look. And, now, she was the one doing the looking.

Their eyes met. His eyes - and his face - were so pale, but he managed a smile (and a scold). "Buffy, don't worry. It's just some bug. That's all. I'll get over it, and I'll be back to fighting strength. You just have to realize my immune system isn't as superhuman as yours is. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Sure, Giles. I'm sure that's all it is. I just don't like it. I don't want to... don't want to find you..." She collapsed to her knees at the side of the bed in tears. She let her face on her Watcher's lap. She couldn't bear to even think about it... much less say the words. _I don't want to find you... like Mom._

"Buffy, Buffy, my dear," Giles began, his breathing labored. He patted her head as he struggled to get himself under control. He was worried, too, but he didn't want Buffy to know that. It was ironic, if you thought about it. Usually, a Slayer never had to worry about her Watcher's health, she would've died in combat long before it became an issue. His hand slipped off her head as she leapt up to help him. He settled back as she eased him back onto the pillows. She poured him some water and gently put a tablet in his mouth. He sighed as he carefully drank the water she put to his lips.

"Th-thank you, dear." He breathed out. "Just a spasm, I suppose. They come and go. Don't worry." But she did worry. She sat next to him on the bed, her head on his shoulder, swallowing her tears.

Spike

He was upset too. But, unlike the Slayer, there was no way to rationalize this. Vamps just didn't get sick. He looked at the form on the bed in front of him and still couldn't believe it was his brooding Grand-Sire. The damn fool was too weak to even brood. It was downright disturbing.

His eyes were closed and he looked dead to the world. He snorted. Even deader than he should be. Not your garden variety, basic undead you see in a vampire. No, this was approaching zombie level dead. Except without the whole rotting smell thing. He...

"How's he doing? Any change?" Spike jumped as Faith spoke. She chuckled. It just showed how upset he was, that she could sneak up on him. A Slayer! He shook his head and looked at her. She looked the same as ever, except in her eyes. You could see the stress there. She was just as upset as he.

"Nah. He's just the same. He's just fading away. You touch him and your hand comes away covered in ashes. Whatever it is, it's destroying him piece by piece." He cursed and lashed out, punching a hole in the wall. Faith looked around the room. There were at least a dozen other holes to match the one he just drove in the wall.

She looked at him, not knowing what to do. She was terrible at this touchy-feely stuff. Angel and Buffy were masters of the art. But she and Spike they were of a kind. They felt the pain, but were useless at expressing it. She shrugged and nodded in agreement. "Hey, Spike. Maybe a sparring session will get rid of this crappy sense of uselessness I've got. What do you say?"

Spike laughed, turned back once more to look at the older vampire. He took a deep (and unnecessary) breath to disguise the tears he was forcing back, and followed Faith out of the room. Yeah, some gratuitous violence might be just the thing. He wondered if Dru knew what was going on. He was going to have to tell her. She probably knew already. He dreaded what would happen if she lost her Daddy. And they think she's insane now!

Andrew

He'd finally escaped from Xander. He'd had a hard time not gloating over Xander. How dare he act so superior to him? He wasn't the one screwing a vampire – a psychotic one at that! He won't be so superior when Buffy and Willow find out! And they'll find out soon enough. He brought up the photos on his cell phone. They were actually quite good considering how rushed he'd been. It was quite obviously Drusilla. And it was quite clear that Xander was enjoying her affections. He cackled in delight. Oh, this was too, too good.

He keyed up the e-mail program and selected the recipients. Willow. Buffy. Dawn. He frowned as he arrowed down to Giles' address. Should he? Giles rarely looked at his e-mail. Plus the way he'd been feeling, he might not ever see it. But, maybe, someone would... Hell, with it! He keyed in Giles' address as well. He indulged himself in one more cackle as he hit the Send button. **_Are you sure?_** "Oh, yeah, I'm sure."

Looking around, he decided he deserved something for his efforts on behalf of the Eternal Struggle. The problem was the English just can't make pizza. Really, when in London, you should really stick with Chinese or Indian food. It was just safer that way. English food was just crap. He passed a pub and shuddered. He brightened as he looked up ahead. There was a Chinese place. _Oh, yeah. Moo goo gai pan, here I come. _

Drusilla

She watched the little rat boy from the shelter of the shadows. He had been doing something with that dreadful little phone thing. She couldn't really tell what he'd done, but she thought maybe he had been trying to get a hold of the Watcher. Mr. Giles. She smiled as she remembered the Watcher. He'd had such a nice mind. She'd loved getting in it. It was like a warm bath. She followed the rat boy with her eyes. She didn't think his mind would be nice. No, she thought. It would be stuffy and sticky and messy.

_Should I let him eat first? _She asked herself. She liked the taste of MSG in the blood. It made things nice and spicy. Still, she wasn't sure she wanted to eat him at all. He really looked quite pale and cold-blooded. Not tasty at all. She moved forward, keeping to the shadows. She decided she really wanted to catch him as he passed the alley up ahead. She could maneuver him into there and have him to herself.

She held the advantage. He probably did have a stake, a cross, holy water. But, still, she knew the lay of the land. Daddy had always told her that was important. And, she did. This was her home, after all. She was a proper Cockney lass. London born and bred. And killed in London too, she thought gleefully. She felt a coldness creep through her at the thought of her Daddy. There was something... something about Daddy, if it would only come.

She moved fluidly through the shadows, coming closer and closer to the rat boy. He was in no hurry, thankfully. He was walking in an arrogant and oblivious way. She nearly laughed out loud. The way he was walking, he wasn't just her prey. Every pickpocket and purse snatcher would see him lit up like a Christmas tree. She shook her head in disbelief. But his purse wasn't what interested her. No, it was revenge. She reveled in the exultation of her passions.

Closer, closer. She crept up on him as a spider approaches a beetle. Oh, this will be good. As they approached the alley, she felt her head to make sure the scarf was covering her head. It wasn't just like in the pictures, but she was sure that it was close enough to fool the boy. She opened her mouth to call for him. "Help me, Andrew. Help me. This is our most desperate hour."

Andrew

He turned at the sound of the voice. It was so close – it sounded like... No, it couldn't be. But, yes, as he turned, he saw Her. A vision. But, no, She looked real. She was dressed all in white, just as She had been when he'd seen Her before. She was so beautiful... much more so in person. He reached out a hand to touch Her face, and She smiled and took his hand. Her hand was so cold, She must be chilled. He began to take off his coat. He could be a gentleman. He would do anything for Her.

"No, Jedi Master. We do not have the time. Come with me. Please, you are our only hope. Help me. Help me." She took his hand and pulled him into the alleyway. He could not stop looking at Her. Of course he would help Her. It was his duty. He must help the Rebellion against the Empire. He would be the champion this time... He was the Jedi Master. Who was a Slayer next to that?

Drusilla

In the end, she was amazed how easy it had been. She had expected that she would have to take over his mind to gain control. She was shocked at how easily he just fell into the idea that she was this character from a picture. She tried not to laugh at it all. He just followed her like a lamb to the slaughter.

She pulled him without resistance into the back of a chemist's. It was closed, so she took him down to the coal cellar. There was a musty and cool smell to it. She was quite at home. She sat the rat boy down and stared into his adoring gaze. She leaned over and sniffed at his neck. He had an unappetizing smell to him. Her eyes glinted golden as she prepared to feed...

"What would you have me do, my Princess?" He suddenly asked. She started back and looked into his eyes. They were trusting and adoring, but there was a darkness to them. There was something in there. She pushed her hunger down, and sat back looking at her "subject." Perhaps, just perhaps, there was something he could tell her.

"Yes, Jedi Master. There is much we must do... if we want to stop the Sith." He smiled at that, and she smiled back. "Be in me, Jedi. Be in me..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:**

The characters of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _and _Angel_ do not belong to me.

**Summary:**

Andrew is in deep, deep trouble. Dru is enjoying herself. Willow and Faith talk things over. Willow checks her e-mail, what will she do about the pictures?

**Chapter Six**

Drusilla

She snorted in displeasure. There was usually something so satisfying and pleasurable – nearly orgasmic – about chaining a man to a bed and torturing him. However, this man was not cooperating. She stamped her foot in frustration and anger. Like her Daddy, she hated it when they lost consciousness so quickly.

The boy really was worthless. She'd have killed him by now. It's just that she hadn't tortured anyone in so very long. Her Daddy had taught her everything she knew – and he knew quite a lot. She had also tried to keep up to date on modern techniques. She had accumulated quite a library on the subject by now. The Spanish Inquisition. Sir Francis Walsingham. The Gestapo. Nanking. Pol Pot. Stalin. They were all very educational and she had been looking forward to trying some new techniques.

She pouted and slumped onto the bed next to her victim. She looked at her nightstand and picked up the small stuffed bear that was sitting there. She put it to her nose and inhaled the scent. She hummed in pleasure. The bear was dressed in a pirate's outfit and had a patch over his eye. Sandy had gotten it for her as a present. She treasured it, almost as much as she treasured her pearls. The ones her Daddy had gotten her for a Death's Day present after her first year as a vampire. She had asked Sandy special to rub his face across it. She wanted his scent on it. That way she could always be with him – even when he wasn't here.

She stood up suddenly and began to pace the room. She wanted to torture him. Now! Why must the rat boy be so disagreeable? Daddy would've been so angry with this boy! She frowned as she thought of her Daddy. What was it? There was something out there. Something bad was happening to her Daddy. If the stars would just cooperate and let her know what, she'd take care of it. She heard a whispering sound in the room. She spun her head to face the doll on her vanity table. Miss Elizabeth was whispering something for Princess to hear. She ran to the table and set the bear down. She picked up the doll and spun around the room, laughing.

"What are you whispering, Miss Elizabeth? Do you know a secret about Daddy? Do you?" She pleaded to the doll. Miss Elizabeth didn't make a sound. But Princess heard something. A little whisper on the air, meant only for her. "The rat boy is doing what? Oooooh! What a naughty little creature! We must make him suffer for that. What's that? Oh, yes! Yes! Yes, we must get in his slimy little mind and discover all his secrets. Then, we will teach him a lesson. Yes, yes! The little rat boy is going back to school!"

She jumped in the air gleefully and spun Miss Elizabeth about the room. She would be a good Princess. She would save her Daddy and her lovely Pirate King. Yes, she would – she would!

Watcher Headquarters

Willow sighed as she logged on to the computer. She logged on under Giles' name to see if there was anything important that required his attention. She and Buffy were trying to handle everything without involving Giles. But it was difficult. Even sick Giles was very pig-headed and insisted that he was still capable of making decisions. She shook her head and swallowed some tears. They were all very worried about Giles. Whatever bug he had had really knocked him down. She even had suspicions that it was more than the GI bug the doctor diagnosed. He was much too sick.

She focused back on the computer as she pulled Giles' e-mail up. Not much. At least the spam filter was finally working. Giles got so fed up with those e-mails for "enhancements." She giggled at the memory. He would just sit there sputtering and mumbling unintelligible sounds, while taking off his glasses and polishing them. She started to cry, the sobs came out in great heaves as she covered her face with her hands. He can't leave them. He just can't! Just then the phone rang and she screamed in shock. She tried to breathe deeply and answered the phone.

"Willow."

"Hey, Red. What's the prob?" She breathed easier. It was just Faith. Then she choked up again. She wasn't calling because of Angel, she hoped. If anything happened to Angel... well, she just didn't know how she'd tell Buffy. She didn't know how her friend would handle losing both of them. She just didn't. "Red! It's not the Wizard of Watchers, is it? Our favorite Brit is still okay, right?"

Willow's eyes went wide. Faith usually wasn't so frantic and emotional. This whole situation was just getting too much for all of them. Slayers and their Watchers were calling all of the time. Some of the Slayers were making terrible mistakes in the field. It just seemed that everyone was panicked about what was happening to Giles. They had tried to keep it quiet from everyone except their core group. But that had just been plain impossible.

Then, there was this whole thing with Angel. It hadn't affected as many of them. After all, many of the new Watchers and Slayers really didn't know - or even trust - Angel. Faith did. After all, Angel had really rescued her. She sighed and turned her attention back to Faith. "No, Faith. Giles is still the same. We're really worried. The doctors still claim it's just a GI thing, but I'm not so sure."

"Well, do something about it, Red! You're the brains of this outfit."

"Do what? All we can do is wait." She sighed. Faith always wanted instant gratification – in sex, slaying, and – it seems – life.

"Oooh! Bite me! Red, you're the one with a degree in chemistry! Check him out yourself! Or do you just analyze demon stuff?"

"D'oh!" Willow slapped herself upside the head. Of course! That's what she should do! Why didn't she think of it herself? "Goddess! You're right, Faith. I don't know why I didn't think of it myself."

"Well, Red, maybe it's because you're so smart – you don't think of the common sense stuff. I'm sure you and B would've figured it out eventually."

"Thanks, Faith. How's Angel? Do you guys know what's wrong with him yet?"

She heard Faith choke up. Were those tears? Couldn't be – not Faith. After a moment, she heard Faith clear her throat. "No, Red, we don't know anything. Spike and I take turns keeping an eye on him. Kennedy's been taking care of patrolling – although I go out some nights. Slaying seems to keep me sane. He's just not getting any better. He's not moving or anything. It's weird, you can actually see him slowly fading into ashes. It's way creepy, girl!"

Willow thought about that. She'd never really heard about something that would kill a vampire slowly. Drusilla had gotten sick and weak, but she hadn't been turning to ashes. Besides, the cure for Dru was a Sire's blood... and they were all out of spare Darlas. So, that wouldn't work. They couldn't even use Angel's grand-Sire... Buffy had killed the Master as well.

She looked down at the computer as she thought. Looking at Giles' e-mail list, she noticed that there were some reports from other Watchers. However, she and Buffy got those as well. So, she could always print them out later for Giles, so she deleted them. Looking down, she saw a message from Andrew. It was marked "urgent". She rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Red?" _Damn!_ Willow thought. _I'd nearly forgotten about Faith._

"Sorry, Faith. I was just checking Giles e-mail. Andrew sent him something marked urgent."

She heard Faith snort and chuckle. "Yeah, right. Maybe he's found a portal to Middle Earth."

Willow laughed loudly at that. That would be so like Andrew. She shook her head. Looked at the message, it looked as if he was sending photos. She shuddered at the thought of what photos he would possibly e-mail. "It looks like he's sent photos. I don't think I want to see what he's sent."

"Right, Red. I think you can safely delete it. God knows that anything he's taken a pic of, Giles'll never want to see – sick or healthy. I've got a question for you, though."

Willow nodded her head as she heard Faith's suggestion to just delete it. That was a good idea. _I think I'll check mine and Buffy's e-mail too. Buffy sure doesn't need to see it. Especially if it's more of his campaign against Angel. That'd just piss Buffy off.. _She hit the delete button and exited Giles' account. She brought up the log in box and signed into Buffy's account.

"Yeah, Faith? What's your question?" She asked off-handedly as she pulled up Buffy's e-mail. Sure enough, Andrew had sent her the same message. She deleted it as she looked curiously at the rest of Buffy's messages. She had several messages from the various Slayers in the field. A message from Xander. _I'll leave that for Buffy. It's probably personal, and not a report. _She even had a message from Spike. Her eyes went down to the last message and went wide. _Riley! I wonder what he wants. _Her finger hovered over the touchpad as she debated whether or not to satisfy her curiosity. She let her finger drop. She really wanted to know what was going on with Riley. But, she decided to honor Buffy's privacy. She'd tell Buffy that she had a couple of messages. She exited her account and went to her own. She'd need to print off the Watcher and Slayer reports for Giles. Sick or not, he insisted on reading them daily.

"Well, it's about our own Bleached Boy Wonder over here. He seems to be affected by Angel's condition. I don't know if it's just stress or what. It almost seems like he's physically affected by what's happening. He just seems to get worse ever day."

"Worse?" Willow frowned and looked up from the computer. Faith was making absolutely no sense now. She could understand Spike being agitated by Angel's illness, but a physical connection? "What exactly do you mean by _worse_?"

"Well, first of all, he's very agitated and frantic. He doesn't seem to be able to concentrate on anything. Also, he seems to be getting weaker. I don't know how to explain it."

Willow thought about it. "Well, I think it could be a couple of things. One, I think as Angel is Spike's grand-Sire, that means there's some kind of connection between them. That could be affecting him. Also, there was the whole business of Spike coming back. Maybe when **they** - whoever **they **are – sent him back, **they** actually tied him to Angel somehow. That's all I can think of. Faith, why don't you get a sample of Angel's blood and overnight it to me? Maybe I can check his too, while I'm checking out Giles. You never know, there might be something. It's not like you can get a doctor for him."

"Right, great idea, Red. And I'll keep an eye on our boy over here and let you know if he does anything else. Take care, Red. Give the old man... well, tell him I'm thinking of him... you know, or something."

Willow smiled. Faith was not very emotionally demonstrative; but, when it came right down to it, she did care. "Sure, Faith, I'll do that. Give Spike my best. Bye."

"You bet. Back at ya."

Willow hung up and sighed. It was just getting so hard to deal with all this. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to her computer. Checking her e-mail, she noticed that she, too, had been blessed by Andrew. They were going to have to do something about him soon. She knew Giles wanted to cut him loose. He was just too much of a loose cannon. She knew that Giles didn't trust him to have his own Slayer. He just wasn't very reliable in the field. The problem with cutting him loose was he knew too much about their computer system. She'd have to completely overhaul their computer security before they did anything.

She deleted Andrew's so-called "urgent" message. Looking at the rest of the e-mail, she marked all of the Slayer and Watcher reports for printing. Then she browsed the rest of her e-mail. Looking at the clock, she noticed it was almost four. Tea time. She always made Giles' tea for him. Buffy never did it right. So, she did it. She was grateful of being able to do something. She checked to make sure the printer was operating and seeing that it was, as Faith would say, five by five, she got up to make Giles' tea.

Drusilla and Andrew

The rat boy was finally awake. That was good. She had everything ready for him. First she needed to see what he had done. What he knew about her Daddy. What terrible things he had been doing. Any other time she would've been pleased at a little human boy causing such harm. She would've offered him immortality. But this was different. He was hurting her Daddy and she couldn't have that.

She went to the boy chained up on the bed. "How are you feeling, little rat man?"

Andrew looked up. He couldn't believe what he saw. He had been chained up by Princess Leia! Why was she hurting him? He was a loyal supporter of the Rebellion and she was hurting him. Her eyes. Her eyes were very strange. He breathed in painfully. She had been torturing him for what seemed like hours. Soon, someone would come for him. After all, a Watcher like him could not be lost. Think of all the knowledge gone! He smiled and looked back at the Princess. There was something different about her, he just didn't know what.

"Princess." He breathed. "You don't need to hurt me. I serve you."

"Silly man." Drusilla teased. He really was an idiot. She hadn't even entered his mind yet, and he was still confused as to who she was. And people thought she was mad! At least, she could tell the difference between fantasy and reality! Looking back at him, she smiled. "Of course I have to hurt you. You have betrayed us. No man can serve two masters."

He watched helplessly as she reached for a sharp dagger on the bedside table. He could still see his blood on the tip. He struggled against his restraints. It's not working. Oh, dear God. Resistance is Futile. Why is she doing this? Doesn't she know who he is? "Princess! Please! I'm not serving two masters. I only serve you. I'm only pretending to serve Giles. I'm undercover, Princess! Please! PLEASE!"

She watched in satisfaction as he screamed in terror. She was going to use his mind against him. But it looked like she wouldn't have to go to the trouble. That was good. She hated his mind. It was quite disgusting and disagreeable to be in. But as he seemed to have gone to all the trouble to have his own delusions without her help, she wasn't going to ignore the opportunity. She smiled again, holding the dagger close to his face. Waving it about, she scanned his face to find a good place to probe him with the knife. The nose? The eyes? Her eyes scanned lower. His groin? She frowned. She wasn't sure that would have any affect. He looked quite small down there. Looking back into his face, she cocked her head. "What are you talking about? Choose your words carefully, dear."

Andrew nodded energetically. He had to convince her. She had to understand that everything he was doing was for the Alliance. He was loyal. "Thank you, my Princess. Thank you! I love you, I will do anything for you, I..."

"Enough!" Drusilla yelled. She gave him haughty, imperious glare. She was really beginning to enjoy this farce. It was better than a fancy dress ball or charades. "Stop your salivating and your fawning. It is five in the afternoon. I will give you until sunset – about 90 minutes from now – for you to convince me of your fealty. Otherwise, you will be put to death."

Andrew froze at that. Sunset should be around 6:30 this evening. He looked at the clock. He would really have to work to convince her. But he would. He would. He opened his mouth and began to talk.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer**

The characters of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _and _Angel _do not belong to me.

**Summary**

Drusilla has discovered what Andrew has been up to. Xander gets a visit from the cops.

**Chapter Seven**

Part One

She was just so very angry. How could that horrible boy do those things? Wouldn't his precious soul stop him? Oooooh!! It just made her so mad. Dru stamped her feet over and over again in frustration and fury.

There were so many things she had to do and very little time. But, the question was how? How was she was supposed to do these things and make sure Sandy doesn't get in trouble? If they knew she and Sandy were friends, she probably would never see him again. Tears started flowing down her cheeks. She just couldn't let that happen. She couldn't!!

She put on a new frock and decided to make a cup of tea. As she walked into her little kitchen, she looked towards the telephone. Frowning, she walked towards it, her hand stretching towards the handset. _Maybe Xander? Should I call him? No!_ She couldn't. He probably would help. But, she'd have to tell him what she had done to Andrew. She couldn't put him in that position. She cared for him too much.

She put the tea kettle on to boil and began to think. She had stopped Andrew. He wasn't a threat to Sandy anymore. No, but what Andrew had set in motion, those were threats. She stamped her feet in frustration. She had known something was wrong with Daddy. She should've done more. If she had acted sooner…

She jumped as the teakettle whistled. Pouring the hot water into the teapot, she snarled. _No use crying over spilt milk_, she thought to herself. What she had to do was come up with a plan. She somehow had to save both Daddy and Mr. Giles. What she had discovered that Andrew had done…

She needed to make a plan. Paper! She needed paper and a pen! She jumped up and down in excitement. She could do this! She planned the end of the world, hadn't she? She could do this! She poured a cup of tea and then she began to search for paper and pen.

Part Two

Willow looked over the lab results of Angel's blood, frowning. Analyzing a vampire's blood wasn't like analyzing the blood of any living creature. There were no living things in it. Also, there were so many foreign particles in the blood. The other big problem was the fact that there was no baseline. You couldn't really know what belonged and what didn't. You didn't even know what the high and low limits were.

And, on top of all that, you had to do the analysis from scratch. She couldn't just send it to the local hospital to be analyzed. There would be just too many questions.

Willow groaned wiping her face with her hand. What was she going to do? It had to be something on the inside to affect Angel this way. But what? And, even if they did figure it out, would they be in time?

"Hey, Wills." Willow jumped at the sound of Buffy's voice. Looking down at the lab results, she flinched. She couldn't lie to save her life. She was going to have to tell Buffy what was going on. Looking at her friend, she saw how tired she was. It was tearing her apart, spending all that time at the hospital with Giles. She was going to make herself sick if she kept this up. "Any news?"

"N-news?" Willow's heart jumped in her chest. Did she know?

Buffy frowned at her friend. She was awfully jumpy. Either she'd drunk too much coffee again or… "Willow! What is going on?"

Willow moaned. She knew she'd be caught out. Looking up guiltily, she motioned to the other chair. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I was trying to look out for you. You've been so worried about Giles; I didn't want to put anything else on your shoulders."

Buffy sat down and grabbed Willow's hands. "I know. This is probably the worst thing that's ever happened to me. But I need to know I can count on you. You, me, and Xan – we can do anything – as long as we're together. Okay?"

Tears welled in Willow's eyes. She nodded sadly. "Yes. You're right. Okay, you're not going to like this. But Faith and Spike say that Angel is in a real bad way. They think he's been poisoned or something. So they sent me some of his blood to see if I can find out what's wrong."

She flinched as she heard her friend stifle a sob. She knew it was going to be too much for Buffy. Impulsively, she enveloped her friend in an embrace. "It's going to be alright, Buffy. Think of all the things he's gotten through. I mean if he can survive being sent to a hell dimension and fighting the hosts of hell, as well as fighting you. I think he can survive a little doping."

Buffy calmed down and tried to put a smile on her face as she backed out of the embrace. She really didn't know how much more she could take. But Willow was right. "Do we know what he was poisoned with? Was it the same stuff as last time? Maybe Slayer blood…"

Willow exhaled in relief. She passed the lab results over to Buffy. She smiled as her friend's brow wrinkled in confusion. "It's okay, Buffy. It's just as confusing to me. I just have a problem. How do you know what can belong in a vampire's system and what can't?"

Buffy started to roll this around in her head. She passed the papers back over to Willow and continued to think as she watched her friend get to work. She began to think out loud. "Well, if you are what you eat, a vampire should be made up of the blood he takes in. So we should look for something that wouldn't be in pigs' blood?"

Willow's eyes went wide as she started fidgeting wildly on her chair. She logged on to her computer and started typing madly. Buffy looked on in amazement and, more importantly, silence. She knew better than interrupting her friend when she got like this.

Part Three

Xander looked around nervously. The waiting room was practically antiseptic. He supposed the walls were supposed to be white, but the fluorescent lights gave it a sickly greenish tinge. He began to think he was feeling seasick. They had left him alone and he was sure they had done it on purpose.

One whole wall was taken up by a large window with a curtain on the opposite side. He'd been in a room very like this when he was still in high school. It was in one of the local cemeteries. Then, when they opened the curtain, they watched a vampire rise and then crash through the window to attack them. But, this, he hoped, would be different.

First of all, it was still daylight – at least outside. History had shown that vampires always waited until sunset to rise. Secondly, this was the police. Something was up. Something big. He probably should have called Buffy or Willow, but they were too busy with Giles. So, he decided to just see how bad it was going to be first. At least it meant he had an excuse to stay from Andrew.

He groaned. Unless, of course, this was Andrew's fault. Just as he was about to imagine what trouble the dork had caused this time, the door opened suddenly. Two men entered the room. These guys were in suits, so he figured they must be detectives of some kind. He sure hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.

"Mr. Harris?" The shorter one asked. He reached inside his jacket and extracted his badge. _Just like on TV_, he thought to himself. "My name is Detective Inspector Southwick and this is Detective Sergeant Coram. We understand you know a Mr. Andrew Wells. I believe he works for you?"

"Well, um, I guess." Now he was really nervous. What had Andrew done this time?

"You either know him or you don't, Mr. Harris." The taller man barked this out. The Sergeant. He must be Bad Cop.

"Yeah, I do, I do know him. It's just – well – he doesn't work for me. Not exactly." Oh, God. He sounded like a complete idiot. If he wasn't careful, he was going to get himself arrested. And he didn't even know what the crime was yet.

"When was the last time you saw him?" The short guy asked pleasantly. Good Cop, apparently.

"Um, well, it would've been about two – maybe three weeks ago."

"We found some evidence that he came to town to see you."

Xander was horrified to feel himself blush in shame. "Yeah, I was supposed to but… I… Well, I… That is…"

"Mr. Harris! Would you just spit it out!" Bad Cop.

He flinched at the tone in Bad Cop's voice. "Okay, okay. The thing is, I don't really like Andrew that much. I was supposed to see him last night. I… Well, I just didn't want to. I was trying to avoid him. I went to a friend's house. When I came back to the house, they said he'd never shown."

The two police inspectors exchanged a look, sending Xander's blood pressure through the ceiling. Moving nervously from one foot to another, he tried to look the detectives in the eye and failed miserably. "I… Has something happened to Andrew?"

"Does Mr. Wells have any family, Mr. Harris?" The lead inspector asked abruptly.

Xander laughed nervously. _Yeah, right. They're at the bottom of a giant sinkhole. _"No. His parents are dead. His family was us. The people he worked with."

"And you hated him."

Xander started. "No! Not hate. He annoyed me. If you had met him, you'd be driven crazy by him too. Listen to me, what do you know about Andrew? Do you know anything about him personally?"

"Why don't you tell us?"

"He's the kind of kid whose only friends were other geeks like him. He was the type of guy who actually thought Middle Earth and the Starship Enterprise really existed." Xander took a deep breath, relaxing somewhat when he heard one of the detectives snort in disgust. "So, I just didn't want to talk to him. He'd been demoted recently at work. It really pissed him off."

"I see. Where did you go yesterday? Would it have been in the East End?"

Xander gasped in surprise. "Uh… yeah, I have a friend that I visit."

The detectives exchanged a knowing look. Xander blushed. He knew what they were thinking. "Hey! I know what that look meant. It's not like that. It's just… well, my friends have a history with her… and my boss'd probably fire me if he knew I was seeing her. It's not intimate or anything like that. We just like the same movies and we talk and…"

The Bad Cop raised and eyebrow. He was apparently very interested in that "and". "And what, Mr. Harris? Something kinky? Trust me, we've heard it all."

Xander smiled, chuckling under his breath. "No… no… nothing like that. Not with **her**. No, she makes me cream teas and desserts and stuff. You guys heard of that clotted cream stuff? It's unreal. We don't have nothing like that back home."

Coram chuckled. Yeah, he wouldn't think so. He'd gone on a training trip to the States to learn new techniques at their FBI Academy. He'd been very surprised at just how tasteless some of their food could be. Xander looked up in surprise. _So, Bad Cop isn't really that bad after all!_

"So, Mr. Harris. Would you be surprised that Mr. Wells had been in the East End yesterday too?" He smiled at Xander's shocked face. "Yes, we have a witness that states that Mr. Wells was following someone on the bus to the East End. He reported letting him off near a neighborhood commonly known as Dracula's End."

Xander gasped. "Dracula's End? That's where… He was following me? Why?"

"We were going to ask you the same question."

"I… I didn't know. I never saw him. I got off the bus and walked to my friend's house. I got caught in the rain. As soon as I got to her door, she rushed me in clucking over me. She made me eat soup. I think she thought I was going to catch cold. She always worried about me in London weather. She said California people didn't understand REAL weather." Xander laughed nervously.

"What is your friend's name?"

Xander paled. Should he tell them? If they pissed her off, it could get bad. Then again, they'd be suspicious if he didn't.

The detectives exchanged a look again. Then the Good Cop spoke. "Is there a problem, Mr. Harris? Maybe your friend is married?"

Xander giggled nervously. "No, no, she's not. I'm just worried about how she'll react to being questioned by police. She's a little sensitive. A little different."

The short cop screwed up his eyes at that. "Different in what way?"

"Well… I guess she's got some mild mental issues. She can be very innocent and simple, but then she can have a really bad temper as well."

"I see. Her name?"

Xander closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "It's Drusilla, Drusilla Aurelius." Xander noticed one of the detectives frowning as he concentrated on his notebook. "Yeah, that's different, isn't it? It's spelled A-U-R-E-L-I-U-S."

"Thanks."

"He's dead, isn't he?" Xander asked hesitantly. He probably knew the answer to the question. But he had to know, much as he didn't want to hear the answer. He kept on looking at the curtain. He wanted to know if that was Andrew back there.

The two detectives retreated from Xander and began to whisper between themselves in the corner of the room. This did nothing to ease the quaking and shaking that seemed to be in every part of his body. He was sure there was nobody that could look as guilty as he did. Of course, he looked guilty most of the time. Everybody said so.

He tried to smile as the detectives approached him again. The short one began to speak. "Yes, Mr. Harris. Mr. Wells is dead. We can't elaborate on the manner and method of his death, but we do know it was a homicide. Could you – Would you identify the body for us?"

Xander closed his eyes and nodded without speaking. He'd known this had been coming for some time. It wasn't like he'd have to prepare much. He'd seen his first dead body as a teenager, and he had no idea how many he'd seen since then.

He opened his eyes and faced the curtain. He gasped as they opened it. It wasn't the dead body that had shocked him; it was how fast they had opened the curtain. He had expected a nice slow opening to show a body on a stainless steel table covered with a white sheet.

He was on a stainless steel table and he was covered with a white sheet. However, that curtain had just whisked open, like someone wanted to see outside quick.

He focused his attention on the body on the table. You could see Andrew's head and the top of his shoulders. Everything was very white. Even for Andrew. Being a computer geek, Andrew rarely got any sun as a rule. But this was much whiter. This was "a vampire has been really, really hungry" white. He examined the neck area as much as he could from the other side of the glass while two Scotland Yard detectives examined him as closely. There were no marks. He was untouched. Not even a bruise. Not so much as a scratch. He frowned. There were no signs of trauma. Of course, he wasn't seeing all of Andrew. Maybe he'd been bitten somewhere else? Xander cringed as he imagined the different places the vampire could have attacked.

"Is that him, Mr. Harris? You seem very interested. What are your thoughts?"

"Uh… yes, that is him. He looks… he looks like he has no blood. But I don't see where he lost the blood from. Maybe under the sheet?"

Xander jumped when the curtain was suddenly whisked shut behind him. Just as fast as it had been opened. He turned around to face the detectives. "Did it happen last night? Where was he found?"

"We're asking the questions, Mr. Harris." Bad Cop was back.

"It's alright, Sergeant. Mr. Wells was found in a disused subway station in the East End. So, you have no idea why he followed you? Where would he have gone afterwards?"

"I would've thought he'd have gone back to the office. Why was he following me? No idea. Knowing Andrew, I'd have said that he wanted to see what I was up to. After his demotion, he got very strange. He was a very conspiracy-oriented type of guy. But he got even more paranoid. Maybe he was trying to get some dirt on me. Just a guess."

The detective nodded. "I see. You said that your boss and your friends would disapprove of you seeing this Drusilla."

"Um… yes. They'd be angry if they found out. Hurt and angry." Xander paused to think about that. Yeah, they'd be furious. And after the girls beat the crap out of him, Buffy'd go off stake Dru. "Yeah, it would be bad."

"So what would you or Drusilla do to stop this?" This was Good Cop sounding a bit bad. _Oh, this was so screwed up! _

"I… I wouldn't… couldn't do anything!! And Dru didn't do anything either! We didn't even know anything!" He was getting frantic now. Mostly because he knew that Dru was quite capable of it. There was just the fact that there were no bite marks on the body. _That you could see._ There were no nail marks on the body. _That you could see. You know that she could do this, that she would do this. The question is: did she know that he knew? Did Andrew know?_ "This is all… um… what's the word? You know, when you're just making guesses? It's that. We don't know if Andrew even saw anything. Do we? And if he did, I certainly didn't know he knew. That means Dru wouldn't have known?"

"I think the word you're looking for is conjecture, Mr. Harris. And you're doing a little of it yourself assuming that this Drusilla couldn't have known. She could have found out after or during your visit and just didn't tell you."

"Or of course you could be lying to us, too." Bad Cop again.

"Well, anyway, we'd like to thank you for talking to us. We'll be in touch."

Xander coughed involuntarily. "Th-that's it? I can go?"

"Yes, have a nice day, Mr. Harris."

He giggled. _Yeah, right. _"Will you be talking to Dru?"

The short cop opened the door, nearly pushing him out. "Good night, Mr. Harris."

Xander found himself in the hallway looking at a closed door. _Oh, this is so, so bad. What am I going to do? I can't really talk to the girls. And what's going to happen when they corner an insane vampire in her own house? It's going to look real bad if their bloodless corpses show up somewhere. And, if that happens, I'm going to have to send Vi or Buffy or one of the other girls after my best friend._ He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the sharp contraction in his chest. He seemed to hurting more than he'd think for a friend, but that's all she was. That's all she was.


End file.
